Bacheldre Welsh clay-pot bread

Bacheldre Welsh clay-pot bread

Celebrate St David’s Day with this delicious loaf baked in a clay pot

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 1 loaf

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Freezable

Method

  1. First prepare your pot. Select one clean, clay flower pot (15cm diameter x 15cm high). Clean thoroughly, oil inside and outside and bake three or four times in a hot oven for about 30-40 mins. You can do this while you are baking other foods.
  2. Mix both flours in a large mixing bowl with the salt, then add all the herbs and garlic and mix together thoroughly, then make a well in the middle.
  3. In a large warm jug, mix together the milk, water, honey, olive oil and the yeast and leave for a few mins to let the yeast activate. Now pour the liquids into the centre of the flour and, with a spoon, start mixing the flours into the liquid from the outside of the bowl in to the middle.
  4. Now with clean, warm hands carry on the mixing process until all the ingredients come together to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 mins on a lightly floured surface, place in a bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave for 30-40 mins in a warm place.
  5. The dough should be larger than when you first started so you 'knock it back' - literally punch a hole in the middle and knead again for 5 mins.
  6. Now prepare the pot and ensure that it is well greased (you can line the pot with greaseproof paper if you want to), and mould the dough into it. Score the top of the dough, with a sharp knife, about 1cm in, which will add that extra bit of character to the loaf. Place in a warm place and allow to rise for 30-40 mins.
  7. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7, glaze the top of the dough carefully and sprinkle with the fennel seeds. Carefully, place the pot in the centre of the oven, trying not to knock the pot and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. Remove the loaf from the oven and cool for 5-10 mins, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. Do take care as the pot gets very hot.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2005.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 17 January 2008

    Ponkkaa commented on this recipe

    This looks interesting. I'm going to try it this weekend. I'll post results if I survive my first attempt at baking.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 20 January 2008

    Ponkkaa commented on this recipe

    I'm still alive. This bread came out great! My son and I made it together. He thought it was great fun using flower pots instead of a bread pan. Very nice with stews and borscht(Russian style).

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 21 July 2009

    paolo commented on this recipe

    Hi everyone of the site....Just signed up and already leaving a comment: the interesting aspect is the "mold" used....wonder if anyone used the same method to bake a panettone, the typical Christmas italian sweet bread..other thing: I guess it would help using also some wax paper...Cheers:-)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 1 loaf

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Freezable

Ingredients

Print this recipe
Add to your binder

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close